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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. hand — help
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. content — the amount
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. field — farmland
  8. staff — a stick
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — for sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — finally
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. content — happy
  19. last — final
  20. field — a subject
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. last — to go on
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com